A Chinese village, East Point, Hong Kong

Klaus
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A Chinese village, East Point, Hong Kong

Originally thought to show Wong Nai Chung Village, Happy Valley, Hong Kong Island, c.1870-75 (Photo on Flickr).

A discussion (see comments below) showed that this is Tai Hang Village. The photo was re-uploaded (without a watermark) from the University of Bristol:  A Chinese village, East Point, Hong Kong | Historical Photographs of China. The photo is by W.P.Floyd and dated to 1868.

 

Date picture taken
1868
Tags
William P. Floyd
Author(s)
William P. Floyd
Gallery
1860s Hong Kong photos
Shows place(s)
Tai Hang Village (19th century) [c.1860-????]

Comments

Hi TN. I'm a bit confused as to decide which village is shown in the photo. A quick check on the internet showed that one half says Tai Hang (e.g. Facebook), and the other half says Wong Nai Chung (e.g. The Story of Happy Valley, from Swamp to Racetrack to Community).

The (likely) original photo (taken by William Pryor Floyd c.1868) can be found here: A Chinese village, East Point, Hong Kong | Historical Photographs of China. Unfortunately, East Point is a bit vague.

Given the hills in the background, I think TN has got Tai Hang correct. East Point would normally refer to Causeway Bay and the area south of the causeway, in this case Tai Hang. The racecourse was built in 1848. If Floyd had taken the photo, he would have likely made reference to Wong Nai Chung or Happy Valley.

On this site the picture is shown as 'Wong Nai Chung village in the 1870s'.  

And the 1845 Ordnance map is shown, both Wong Nai Chung and Tai Hang have a river flowing past them.

The river in the picture has a definite curve to it.

Does the cluster of houses in the photo seem more like the Wong Nai Chung cluster on the map? 

And is there a very early Broadwood Road there (on the map)?

Dear all. Thank you for discussing the location of the village shown. It seems that there are two places favored on the internet. However, the comparison at https://gwulo.com/media/41117 shows that Tai Hang is correct. I will change the post accordingly.

It would likely be of interest to create a place on Gwulo. I should be approximately between (today's) Concord Villa and Haw Par Mansion. Any suggestions?

Addendum

Just found Historical Building Appraisal_753 about Nos. 30 and 31 Sun Chun Street. It is said there: The premises at Nos. 30 & 31 Sun Chun Street (新村街) were built after 1894 by the Wong family. Sun Chun Street literally means “New Village Street.” A map dated 1901 shows that the houses were situated in an old village named Tai Hang Village which was on the southwestern bank of a stream.

Hi Klaus,

I believe the marker should be somewhere along To Lo Wan Road instead, considering threr are still two very old village houses in situ and still in used in Sun Chun Street.

I was considering when the photographer was standing though.

T

The 1897 map on New HK Maps shows (similar to the 1901 map on Gwulo) an old village labelled Tai Hang Village. The newer houses north-west of the older ones are shown only as dotted lines, likely just planned and not yet constructed.

On the map, the old village has houses in four rows. When looking at the photo, four rows can also be distinguished. This would mean that the old village was south-east of Sun Chun Street, north-west of today's Illumination Terrace. 

Addendum

The 1889 map shows the same houses labeled Tai Hang Tsun.

The modern map shows two Sun Chun Streets, parallel to each other. If we put a marker just left of the junction of the southern Sun Chun Street and Ormsby Street, that looks about right for the location of the old village: https://gwulo.com/map-of-places#18~22.27835~114.19246~Map_by_GovHK-Markers-1901_HK~50

Maybe also worth noting that the marker's location shows the site of the 19th century village, as after the land to the north was reclaimed and built on, later maps use 'Tai Hang Village' to describe the larger area up to Tung Lo Wan Road.